Need tire suggestions

[ramffml]

I have a BigHorn and purchased 20 inch rims. I have 18's right now with factory rubber but I'm trying to reduce a squirrely feel I get when towing my TT.

So bought 20 inch rims, and need suggestions for a tire for towing. Prioritize on this:
- quiet
- ride well
- decent all weather (snow included)
- handle 5000 pounds TT
then other stuff like:
- mpg
- long life
- off road traction

So I'm not concerned about long life, but prefer something that can tow without going to a full blown 3500 rated tire that jars me over every bump.

Described another way; my current/factory 18 inch Goodyear Wrangler tires are exactly what I'm looking for, except I need 20 inch with an increased towing ability. Maybe going to a larger rim will help just by itself? Less squishy sidewall?

Is there such a beast?

 

[Graygoose]

Nitto Ridge Grappler, if your leveled or lifted, 285/65/20

 

[ramffml]

Nittos are all terain, are they not? They don't have a good reputation for quiet smooth ride, which is basically a very high priority for me. My truck will never go offroad, unless you consider a grass/gravel road off road.

 

[Quyonmob]

18” wheels weren’t your issue. All my tow pigs at work run 17’s and tow 10+Klbs with no squirrely issues.

Problem #1 was Goodyear wranglers.
Problem #2 was Goodyear wranglers.

Both problems could be alleviated by better tires, maybe a load range heavier. I went from a 113 to a 115 (17” wheels) and with the pressure adjusted it rides so much better, and no issues under load or towing.

defender LTX MS is what you need, comes in a nice 275/60/20 115 load range.

 

[RainDesert]

Q is right.^ The Michelin Defender LTX is what you are looking for. I have purchased 3 sets. They also do very well on snowy roads. If you are most worried about towing handling I would recommend staying with an 18" wheel and going to the LT rated tire(80 psi).

 

[NorthStar1]

Ditto...Michelin Defender LTX

Picked up a set four weeks ago...fifth set of Defenders in my lifetime and never dissatisfied. Great tires!

Discount Tire will price match anybody.

 

[g00fy]

I just got 285/75R18 Falken AT3W's on my 2019 2500 and i'm super happy with them. They're as quiet as stock, they look great, they seem to perform well in all conditions including snow (did some plowing) and they handle extra weight very well. They were also very reasonable on amazon $232 a tire + $8 per tire install at a local Mavis.

I've had BFG Ko2's, they were pretty good all around also, but i had balancing issues with them, and apparently that's becoming the new norm with BFG. I also had Terra Grappler G2's and Michelin defenders on my 2015 Ecodiesel.

The G2's I had were 285/75R17 and to me, were just all around Meh, not great, not terrible. Sold them and got the Ko2's for my winter tires.

The Michelin defenders I had in a bit of an oddball size 285/60R20 and were strictly a warm weather / towing tire. They were unmatched for Wet & Dry traction, they wore like Iron, and didn't flex with the trailer weight (9500lb toy hauler) BUT, and i have no idea why considering they have more sipes than most snow tires, they were god awful in the snow. I don't know if it's because the tread compound is so hard to get that 70,000 mile warranty rating or what, but I had planned on running them for 1 winter until I could get some extra cash to get a winter tire next season. However I took them out in 1 snow storm with my wife to go somewhere and even my wife commented they were scary in the snow and i should get winter tires asap. A good friend of mine also shares this same experience, he only runs Defenders as his summer tires, because in the winter he drives and tows up through Syracuse NY a lot on his way to his snowmobiling house in Tug Hill and it's often in heavy snow. For that he used BFG KO1 & 2 for years, and just a few weeks ago converted over to the Falken AT3W's.

 

[pacofortacos]

Well let's be honest, no good mpg, quiet summer tread tire will do well in deep snow.
Defenders do decently in small snow amounts, but if you want deep snow traction, you need snow tires.

Personally if you have the room to store them, I would keep the 18's for dedicated winter use if dealing with over 4" of snow at a time.
Defenders on the 20's the rest of the time.

It might seem like a pain, but honestly, when winter rolls around it is often time for tire rotation or similar maintenance anyway and just swap the wheels out - not a big deal since they are already mounted and ready to roll.

 

[pacofortacos]

I have a BigHorn and purchased 20 inch rims. I have 18's right now with factory rubber but I'm trying to reduce a squirrely feel I get when towing my TT.

So bought 20 inch rims, and need suggestions for a tire for towing. Prioritize on this:
- quiet
- ride well
- decent all weather (snow included)
- handle 5000 pounds TT
then other stuff like:
- mpg
- long life
- off road traction

So I'm not concerned about long life, but prefer something that can tow without going to a full blown 3500 rated tire that jars me over every bump.

Described another way; my current/factory 18 inch Goodyear Wrangler tires are exactly what I'm looking for, except I need 20 inch with an increased towing ability. Maybe going to a larger rim will help just by itself? Less squishy sidewall?

Is there such a beast?

Just going to the 20's will help. A heavier rear sway bar may help also. Heavier springs definitely help but at the cost of some ride quality.
The handling improvement when I went from 17's to 20's was the biggest change. Much bigger than the sway bar or springs.

 

[ramffml]

Agreed, snow tire is best. However, it really depends on what truck and tire you're running.

For example: I had dedicated snow tires (Michelin X Ice?) on my previous ride, Jeep GC, and it still sucked in the snow. I also had Cooper AT/3's as the 3 season tire, and the Jeep performed poorly in snow. My current Ram with factory Goodyear outperforms my Jeep in every way for winter driving.

So I'm not terribly concerned about dedicated snows, at least for this year. As long as they perform as good as or better than factory Goodyear I'll be fine.

Also please note: I'm not terribly interested in MPG. The list I gave was in order of priority. If I lose 1 or 2 mpg so be it.

 

[Octane]

I dont tow but for a maybe not so premium tire I got Milestar Patagonia at-r 50k tires.Dont know about how much snow they'd do well on but have a very very low noise and good traction in rain and moderate offroad. I had wrangler sra tires before and a big big improvement.The sra were very very quiet running tire tho. Never own another set tho.

 

[ramffml]

Just going to the 20's will help. A heavier rear sway bar may help also. Heavier springs definitely help but at the cost of some ride quality.
The handling improvement when I went from 17's to 20's was the biggest change. Much bigger than the sway bar or springs.

I have the Hellwig sway bar set in the firmest setting, it makes a difference empty, but already had it installed before pulling my TT so don't know how much worse it would have been on factory sway bar.

 

[ramffml]

I dont tow but for a maybe not so premium tire I got Milestar Patagonia at-r 50k tires.Dont know about how much snow they'd do well on but have a very very low noise and good traction in rain and moderate offroad. I had wrangler sra tires before and a big big improvement.The sra were very very quiet running tire tho. Never own another set tho.

I think those are really heavy and beefy, I'm thinking more of a road tire, not an AT tire. They'd probably look great under it though!

 

[pacofortacos]

Agreed, snow tire is best. However, it really depends on what truck and tire you're running.

For example: I had dedicated snow tires (Michelin X Ice?) on my previous ride, Jeep GC, and it still sucked in the snow. I also had Cooper AT/3's as the 3 season tire, and the Jeep performed poorly in snow. My current Ram with factory Goodyear outperforms my Jeep in every way for winter driving.

So I'm not terribly concerned about dedicated snows, at least for this year. As long as they perform as good as or better than factory Goodyear I'll be fine.

Also please note: I'm not terribly interested in MPG. The list I gave was in order of priority. If I lose 1 or 2 mpg so be it.

Which goodyears do you have now? The Fortitudes?

 

[ramffml]

Which goodyears do you have now? The Fortitudes?

I believe so. The tire says "Goodyear" and "Wrangler", and then "Fortitude HT" in smaller letters.

They're stock tires for a 5th gen 1500 Big Horn with 18 inch rim.

 

[pacofortacos]

They do make that tire in a LT version for the 18" wheels but not for the 20's.
The LT version is a bit heavier but you don't need to run them at high psi when empty, just air up when towing.

I had the LT version of the Michelin Defenders - quiet, nice ride even when aired up, long lasting, great in most all conditions even snow wasn't bad but again it isn't a snow tire.
The 265/60/20 size is close to what you have now - about 1/2" wider and 0.4" taller.

My Outdoorsman came stock with LT tires and the door says psi is 43 psi - so you don't have to run them aired up all of the time.

 

[Octane]

I think those are really heavy and beefy, I'm thinking more of a road tire, not an AT tire. They'd probably look great under it though!

I think those are really heavy and beefy, I'm thinking more of a road tire, not an AT tire. They'd probably look great under it though!

You probably wont get a luxury tire for a truck, to tow and drive in snow and not make any noise.Michelin E load tires are strong but ride hard.Tires are largely subjective to a persons ability to trade one feature for another that may not be too good in their eyes. Good luck

 

[Different Drummer]

You are running an HT tire now and seem happy with it. You can narrow things down considerably by looking at HT tires only. There are several that will do you well in this category.
I have not yet experienced them, however after researching to the end of the world and seeking users real world experience I will be giving the Continental Terrain Contact HT a whirl.
Looks like they may fit your needs. Available in a H rating that should handle your towing without going to a full bore LT which you seem to want to avoid.
Good luck with the search.

 

[g00fy]

I towed my toy hauler with my 2015 1500 about (9000 - 9500lbs), and the tires do make a difference, but i would highly recommend airbags in the rear and if you don't already have one a WDH. Airbags and WDH completely change how the truck tows, and they don't effect the ride while you're not towing because you just air down the bags to soften the ride.

 

[Quyonmob]

Agreed, snow tire is best. However, it really depends on what truck and tire you're running.

For example: I had dedicated snow tires (Michelin X Ice?) on my previous ride, Jeep GC, and it still sucked in the snow. I also had Cooper AT/3's as the 3 season tire, and the Jeep performed poorly in snow. My current Ram with factory Goodyear outperforms my Jeep in every way for winter driving.

So I'm not terribly concerned about dedicated snows, at least for this year. As long as they perform as good as or better than factory Goodyear I'll be fine.

Also please note: I'm not terribly interested in MPG. The list I gave was in order of priority. If I lose 1 or 2 mpg so be it.

Just to be clear , anything round and rubber is better than the OEM Goodyears, yes literally anything, including condoms will have better everything than the OEM junk tires.